Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee

PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE JUNE 29, 2015 A meeting of the Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee was held on Monday, June 29, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. Chairman Paul M. Chasse, Jr. presided. Members of the Committee present: Alderman June M. Caron Alderman Ken Siegel Alderman Michael Soucy Alderman Sean M. McGuinness Also in Attendance: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Ed Mooney, 44 ½ Amherst Street I rise in opposition of O-15-046, “Prohibiting the Passing of Objects to or from the Occupant of a Motor Vehicle on a Roadway.” I do not encounter someone passing an object to or from an occupant of a motor vehicle on a roadway frequently enough to consider the interaction a public safety issue. When I do see it I invariably blame the motorist for having made a poor choice. O-15-046 is misbegotten. It’s having a dog whistle for its intent and it’s legislating by exemption. A dog whistle is language that the average listener takes at face value but has special meaning for those in the know. The dog whistle in the case of O-15-046 is public safety and the special meaning is panhandling. The easiest way to hear the dog whistle is to hear the dog whistle is to read the history of the Concord law. At first, the Concord City Council proposed legislation targeting panhandling but then it was made wary by the potential for First Amendment challenges. They amended their language to that of which this proposal is based including the dog whistle of public safety. You can also hear the dog whistle by applying the exemption (inaudible) to the proposal. If you take section B:1 specifying behavior protecting everyone and subtract section B:2 through 5 specifying those exempted from the prohibited behavior, the only people you are left with are, in my experience, firemen during a boot drive and panhandling. If you want to prohibit panhandling in Nashua then propose an ordinance targeting panhandling. While I would oppose it, at least we could have an open debate but please do not saddle Nashua with the misbegotten proposal before you yet again. I ask that you recommend indefinite postponement of O-15-046. Thank you. INTERVIEWS City Clerk Patricia D. Piecuch (New Appointment) Indefinite Term at the Pleasure of the Mayor Mayor Lozeau It’s nice to be here tonight. As you know on your agenda tonight the first item is our City Clerk position. After many years our City Clerk Paul Bergeron is happily heading off into retirement and we are fortunate enough to have sitting to my right, Patricia Piecuch, who has served this city very well since January of 2008. If you look at her resume you can tell that for the past 20 years she has really been; starting in Manchester, working her way towards a position of this nature. She certainly has many different strengths that will be helpful in that office. As you can imagine we received a fair amount of resumes for this position. There was nobody whose qualifications even came close to what we have here. It is my honor and pleasure to present to you somebody that I hold in high regard and respect a great deal, Patricia Piecuch for your consideration for our new City Clerk. Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 2 Ms. Piecuch Thank you Mr. Chairman. I am very honored that Mayor Lozeau has nominated me to replace Paul Bergeron as City Clerk. I’ve known Paul for over 20 years and if I am nominated I have big shoes to fill. When I started my career in city government over 20 years ago I had no idea what lay ahead me but as I continued to learn more aspects of the City Clerk’s office and city government my dream was to become a City Clerk. I’ve dealt with all different realms of the City Clerk’s office including elections and of course, the duties of the Board of Aldermen which are much different from Manchester so it was a learning curve for me coming here to Nashua. The elections, the vital records and the licensing all kind of follow the same laws that we have to follow from town to town and from city to city. As the Mayor said I have been with the City of Nashua since 2008 and prior to that I was with the City of Manchester for 13 ½ years. I know you do have my resume in front of you but I would like to highlight some things and give you a little background of myself. I have been a New Hampshire Certified Clerk since 1998 and I’ve also been certified as a municipal Clerk with the International Institute of Municipal Clerk’s. At this point I am working on obtaining my Master Municipal Clerk’s with that association. I have very involved with the New Hampshire City and Town Clerk’s Office and was very honored to be the first Deputy City Clerk ever to be the first Vice President and the President of that association. It was an honor that was bestowed upon me by the association. I have served on numerous committees of the association including being a Regional Co-chair for six years for the Merrimack Valley Region and I have also been on the New Clerk’s Workshop where I have sat and taught new clerks on different items that will pertain to them including motor vehicles, dog licensing and assisting with elections. I’ve also been on the Legislative Committee and have testified numerous times for the association in front of our House of Representatives and our State Senate. I am a member of the New England Association of the City of Clerk’s besides also the International Institute of Municipal Clerk’s and I’ve been both a notary and a justice of the peace for over 25 years. I have served on numerous state boards and committees and I am currently the Chair of the Vital Records Fund Committee. I want to thank you very much for your consideration and would be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Alderman Caron Patricia, I am so pleased that the Mayor has recommended you for this position and yes they are big shoes to fill but I know you can fill them. As a member of the ward workers in Ward 7 I know that they and a lot of other ward worker’s highly regard you and really know what kind of work you have done over the past few years. I think this is a great thing to be happening in your career and I will be voting yes. Alderman Siegel This is a fantastic appointment and by far the most qualified person I can possibly imagine and I’m pleased to see that you will be filling some really big shoes. Alderman McGuinness I am very pleased with this nomination, thank you, Mayor; I think your experience over the years is so valuable. I know that we are in good hands with you and I am going to vote for your nomination. Alderman Soucy Congratulations on your nomination. When you are an employee of the city or any organization and you are seeking a promotion or a new position it can be a huge advantage or disadvantage depending on what type of employee you are or were. In this case your resume speaks volumes but the type of employee that you have been and are is a huge advantage for you. I will fully support your nomination. Chairman Chasse I know that somebody mentioned the other night that you did not have a degree but sometimes on the job training is way better than a degree and I’m very impressed with this. Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 3 Planning Board Megan M. Prieto, Alternate (New Appointment) Term to Expire: March 31, 2018 Mayor Lozeau It’s my pleasure to introduce Megan to the committee and talk to you a little bit about why I nominated her for this position. Megan actually reached out to the City, to my office, to let us know that she was interested in serving on the Planning Board. She was interested in giving back to the community which I will let her talk to you a little bit more about. I was very impressed when I met with her. As you can tell by her resume, she has a long history of working with real estate and other things, particularly things that require somebody to follow a set of rules to make decisions, to follow state laws and federal laws. This I believe is a position that would be comfortable to Megan. She’s gone to some of the meetings to ensure that was what she was interested in. I asked her to consider Planning and Zoning and come back and let me know which one that would prefer. She spent two or three hours with legal counsel as I typically do for planning and zoning appointments and both of them came back and said interested and thought it was a good fit. I am thrilled to have somebody that’s making this community her home and is willing to serve in this capacity and I believe that she brings an additional skillset to the Planning Board that will serve our city well. Ms. Prieto I thank the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen as well. As the Mayor mentioned I am from Nashua and I went to Boston for a few years and about one year ago I convinced my fiancé to come back to Nashua. I am very happy to be a homeowner here in Nashua and my job does require me to review planning and zoning regulations and ordinances. It’s something that I enjoy so when I thought how I could give back to Nashua and how I could learn, I felt this was the best fit for me. Alderman McGuinness What is your profession, I don’t seem to have a copy of your resume? Ms. Prieto I am the President of Granite Commercial Real Estate. It’s a real estate consulting and development firm based in Bedford, NH. My job does require a familiarity with easements and cross access and drainage, what’s allowed, and special conditions. Alderman McGuinness I also serve on the Planning Board so thank you. Alderman Siegel Just for my fellow committee members’ reference, the agenda that’s on the City’s website is different from the one we get on the FILR app. The FILR app is the one that has all of the resumes on them. I think this is an excellent nomination. I like the fact that you have both commercial real estate background and also finance because every decision has to involve money. I appreciate your willingness to serve. Alderman Soucy I have one possible concern that you could address. You are doing the planning and zoning for a private company or you are a consultant, can you see any possible conflict of interest if you are working for a constituent or the client here in Nashua? Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 4 Ms. Prieto Both the legal counsel and the Mayor brought that up. I would certainly recuse myself if I felt there was going to be any conflict of interest whatsoever. Alderman Soucy Does that come up a lot, are you doing a lot of properties here in the Nashua area. Ms. Prieto No, I don’t have any. I was looking at one but it has since been ruled out. Alderman Siegel As a side note, Ms. Prieto is being nominated as an alternate and not a primary member. Chairman Chasse We will take up your nomination in a few minutes. Review & Comment Commission Beth Quarm Todgham (New Appointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2018 Mayor Lozeau This evening I am pleased to present the nomination of Beth Todgham for the Review & Comment Commission as a Commissioner. The Aldermanic Liaison, Alderman Caron has worked with Beth over the years. Beth has been a volunteer on Review & Comment for a very long time. If you look at her resume you will see that she works at Southern New Hampshire Services which is the Community Action Program for Hillsborough County. It is the agency that I worked for before Beth. Her level of involvement in the community and dedication really gives her a wonderful window into the non-profit world. Prior to bringing her name in for nomination I did reach out to Alderman Caron and Alderman Wilshire and both were very pleased. I think a great deal of Beth and think that she makes things happen and gets things done. When we moved Touch-A- Truck from the high school over to the airport it was a huge undertaking and she pulled it off flawlessly. I think she will be a wonderful addition. Ms. Todgham We moved to Nashua in 1982 and I think I have always tried to find ways to involve myself in the community. I am out in the community listening and watching and working with all of the non-profits in the area and see how well they work together. It’s always been a real privilege. Alderman McGuinness Is your position with Southern New Hampshire Services a paid position? Ms. Todgham Yes, it is. Alderman Caron Did you work as a volunteer on the Review & Comment? Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 5 Ms. Todgham No. Mayor Lozeau I am sorry if I misspoke, thank you for clarifying that. Alderman Caron I did work with Beth when she sat on the Summer Fun Program with us. She is a very diligent person and I think she would be a great asset. Do you understand that Review & Comment is dealing with agencies that are looking for money? Ms. Todgham Yes. Alderman Caron We are really working diligently to make sure that applications are done and agencies do their due diligence as well. I think you will be a great asset to our group. Alderman Siegel I think Alderman Caron’s and Alderman Wilshire’s recommendation says a lot and I think your experience is perfect for Review & Comment and I appreciate your willingness to serve as it’s an important position. Chairman Chasse We will take up your nomination in a few minutes. Zoning Board of Adjustment Kathryn Vitale (Moving from Alternate to Full Member) Term to Expire: September 11, 2018 Mayor Lozeau It’s my pleasure to nominate to a full position from an alternate position, Ms. Kathryn Vitale. Many of you know Ms. Vitale having been a former Alderman here on this Board. I believe that Kathy started on the Zoning Board long before she was an Alderman but that was before my time. She’s a terrific member on the Zoning Board as she understands the issues that are before it and she does her homework. As an alternate she goes to all of the meetings whether they need her or not and has been an active participant. I think she is held in high regard by her fellow colleagues on the Zoning Board and I believe that this is a great opportunity for the City to capitalize on somebody that’s willing to be here and do the work that is necessary for the Zoning Board. Ms. Vitale Thank you, Mayor Lozeau and Mr. Chairman. Just to correct a couple of things, I sat on the Conservation Commission for about six years and before that I would go with my neighbor who was the Chairman at that time on site walks around the City. At that time I was the President of the PTO at Birch Hill. She said why don’t you see if the Conservation Commission needs another member so I was on that commission before I ran for Alderman. As Alderman I was on the Planning Board as our current Ward 1 Alderman is. I love the land and use Board and I also was on the committee that re-wrote the zoning book. That was quite an undertaking and a huge task. It helps now sitting on the Zoning Board that I can go back to some of those Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 6 topics that we discussed when we were re-writing the zoning codes. It’s been an interesting position because you are talking about special exceptions and variances, in-law apartments, accessory dwellings, and wetlands. There are exact points of law that you answer as part of your decision making process. I look forward to continuing to serve. Chairman Chasse I came from the Zoning Board and now if I decided to go back I would have re-read all of the codes! Alderman Siegel I have a number of concerns. I have no concern whatsoever with your experience in the Conservation Commission or the Zoning Board. I think it’s fair to say that you probably understand the rules and regulations of zoning. The problem that I have is that there is a pretty high standard that I think we need to maintain, especially for certain things like the Planning Board, Zoning Board and the Police Commission; where the possibility of conflict of interest or competing interests as it were involving lots of money or other things are important to consider. You were on the Zoning Board as an alternate and you took a leave of absence because of a legal issue that came up which was “nolle prossed” and that was your witness tampering indictment and in the court of law you are innocent. Mayor Lozeau Excuse me, Mr. Chairman, point of order. Chairman Chasse Yes. Alderman Siegel But… Mayor Lozeau I actually have the right to do a point of order during any point during somebody’s conversation, Alderman Siegel. Chairman Chasse Yes, Mayor. Mayor Lozeau Thank you. I have had this conversation with Ms. Vitale and I have directed her specifically not to answer any questions related to a charge that was brought, that was not prosecuted and was chosen to be dropped. It has nothing to do with her position here tonight. Should that concern you the way you’ve described Alderman Siegel then your opportunity is to vote no, otherwise I will not let her sit here as a member of the public willing to volunteer and respond to an interrogation that never even took place in the courts. Just so everybody understands that. I’ve also asked for a legal opinion about the appropriateness of the level of questions when I learned that you had requested the court documents on this case. Alderman Siegel That’s correct. Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 7 Mayor Lozeau The Legal Department has agreed that it is inappropriate for you to ask that. The items that you should stick to in talking to a member like this are items that relate to her ability to do her job on the Zoning Board, particularly for a member who has been on there, what their attendance is, what their level of participation is, or whether or not they have any conflicts of interest based on their business. Alderman Siegel Thank you, I am aware of that, may I continue? Mayor Lozeau No. Alderman Siegel You don’t even know what I was going to say. Mayor Lozeau Well I already heard what you said. Chairman Chasse Mayor, I am going to let him go but let’s tread lightly. Alderman Siegel I have been consistent in my view point of what the standards are for the behavior of public officials. I was consistent when Tom Pappas had an issue. That consistency extends here. Yes, I reviewed case files; that is correct. I went to the Superior Court and reviewed case files. I appreciate that you are trying to prevent me from discussing something which is entirely germane to somebody serving in a capacity where decisions are made involving potential large amounts of money. It is our job in this committee to vet the people that represent our City. It is my position that that requires a sense of ethics beyond that required strictly in a court of law. There’s nothing that I am saying right now that is inappropriate. I am glad that everybody was prepared for this; I didn’t want to surprise anyone. I had conversations with attorneys on both sides of the fence, discussed this and requested information which I do not have in front of me but other information I do have. This is not a witch hunt. I have nothing personally about anybody that comes before this committee. My interests are the integrity of the City and the City government and I don’t really need to be lectured to and told that somehow that’s not appropriate. We can all pretend that I am not allowed to talk about any of this stuff and I will respect the Chair and refrain from it but I am absolutely going to vote no and I would suggest that my fellow Aldermen also vote no because we are required as members of the Board of Aldermen to protect the interests of this City and unfortunately, the information that I have in front of me which unfortunately I may be told I am not able to share is such that there is no way that a thinking person of this Board would rationally want to put the City in this position. Apparently I can’t go into details about this but I’d be really happy to. If legal says that somehow that’s a problem, and I don’t know because they didn’t tell me about it, nobody informed me that there was going to be any issue with discussing any of this. I’m sorry, our standards are higher. That’s why Tom Pappas isn’t a Police Commissioner anymore and I’m sorry if you don’t like that remark, Mayor; that’s not my job, my job is to look out for the best interest of the City, as is yours. That’s all I have to say about this. My vote is no. Ms. Vitale I’d like to make the committee aware of things that we vote on in the Zoning Board. The Zoning Board Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 8 Committee is a quasi-judicial committee. When we make a ruling it needs to hold up in a court of law. Preferably there are five members present (inaudible) can raise an objection if there is less than five members present because that’s the appropriate amount even though you can take a vote with only three members present. If they take it to court they can use that as a way to go to court if it wasn’t five members. Just so everybody listening and those present know what you vote on, we exact points of law that we vote on. For example, on a special exception you vote that if it’s listed in the Table of Uses you vote will it not create undue traffic congestion or undue impairment of pedestrian safety. You vote will it not overload public water, drainage or sewer municipal systems. That special regulations are fulfilled and that it will not impair the integrity or be out of character with the neighborhood or be detrimental to the health, morals or welfare of our residents. There can be special conditions that are set. If you have an accessory dwelling which comes before the City often, we are talking about in-law apartments, there are six points that have to be filled out and one of them is that the owner has to file their fees in our public courts that it is an in-law apartment and as such it has to have an in-law living there. For wetlands, there are special conditions that have to be met and none of these involve money. For wetlands it has to be that they can’t be reasonably avoided, best practical, alternatives are proposed, acceptable mitigation incorporated to minimize loss necessary for productive use of adjoining buildable land, no rare or endangered species, adequate erosion and sedimentation control methods are performed, proposed activity shall not significantly impair wetland capacity for wildlife and fishery functions. The project shall not impair the stability of the land or water body. Chairman Chasse Kathy, I’m going to stop you right there. This is what I am going to do, Kathy; I am not a lawyer; I have not spoken to corporate counsel. My intentions are to table your nomination and you will not have to come back in front of this committee. I want to be satisfied by legal counsel and once I get it we will bring it up at the next meeting and you will not have to come in front of us again. Is that okay with you? Ms. Vitale That’s perfectly fine. Chairman Chasse Mayor, do you have any objections to that? Mayor Lozeau I have no objection but I would take the time to tell Ms. Vitale thank you for having the courage to come in here knowing what you might have been up against. I do think that I hold my, I think I have a record of action on the kind of people that I bring to the committee for consideration and I do know that I operate in the best interest of the City and unfounded allegations are significantly different. Chairman Chasse We will drop it right there please. I’m going to talk with Corporate Counsel and get something cleared up in my head and then we will come back at the next meeting and we won’t have to bring her back. Mayor Lozeau I appreciate that. Chairman Chasse Does anybody else have any comments? Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 9 Alderman Siegel I would like to point out that while there is a long list of things that the Zoning Board does involve which are minor issues, it also involves things like lot sub-divisions which are significant financially. I had plenty to say that was well outside the scope of this and I’m not going to be accused of false accusations. I didn’t make any accusations. Chairman Chasse Okay, that’s enough. COMMUNICATIONS From: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Re: City Clerk Appointment  Referred to Cmte – 6/24/15 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF PATRICIA PIECUCH TO THE OFFICE OF CITY CLERK FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM AT THE PLEASURE OF THE MAYOR MOTION CARRIED APPLICATION TO LICENSE HAWKER'S, PEDDLER'S, ITINERANT VENDOR'S LICENSE - None APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR Airport Authority Michael Rosenblum (Reappointment) Term to Expire: August 31, 2020 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF MICHAEL ROSENBLUM, 47 BERKELEY STREET, NASHUA, TO THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE AUGUST 31, 2020 MOTION CARRIED Cultural Connections Committee Andrew C. Smith (Reappointment) Term to Expire: March 31, 2018 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF ANDREW C. SMITH, 175 CONCORD STREET, NASHUA, TO THE CULTURAL CONNECTIONS COMMITTEE FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MARCH 31, 2018 MOTION CARRIED Planning Board Megan M. Prieto, Alternate (New Appointment) Term to Expire: March 31, 2018 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF MEGAN M. PRIETO, 17 LATON STREET, NASHUA, AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER TO THE PLANNING BOARD FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MARCH 31, 2018 MOTION CARRIED Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 10 Review & Comment Commission Beth Quarm Todgham (New Appointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2018 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF BETH QUARM TODGHAM, 14 ALICE DRIVE, NASHUA, TO THE REVIEW & COMMENT COMMISSION FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31, 2018 MOTION CARRIED Zoning Board of Adjustment Kathryn Vitale (Moving from Alternate to Full Member) Term to Expire: September 11, 2018 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO TABLE MOTION CARRIED UNFINISHED BUSINESS – RESOLUTION – None UNFINISHED BUSINESS - ORDINANCES O-15-046, Amended Endorsers: Alderman Michael Soucy Alderman David Schoneman Alderman Sean M. McGuinness Alderman Ken Siegel Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire PROHIBITING THE PASSING OF OBJECTS TO OR FROM THE OCCUPANT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE ON A ROADWAY  Re-Referred – 6/9/15 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND TABLE ON THE QUESTION Alderman Soucy I’d like to speak on that motion. Chairman Chasse You can’t speak on a tabled motion. MOTION CARRIED NEW BUSINESS – None Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 11 TABLED IN COMMITTEE R-15-136 Endorsers: Alderman Ken Siegel Alderman Michael Soucy Alderman-at-Large Jim Donchess Alderman David Schoneman Alderman-at-Large David W. Deane Alderman Sean M. McGuinness ESTABLISHING THE PERMITTED LOCATION FOR THE OUTDOOR DINING PERMIT FOR THE CITY ROOM CAFÉ  Tabled – 6/2/15 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO TAKE FROM THE TABLE O-14-017 MOTION CARRIED O-14-017 Endorser: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO MERIT EMPLOYEE RULES AND REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2014  Amended & Tabled 4/21/14 MOTION BY ALDERMAN SOUCY TO RECOMMEND FINAL PASSAGE ON THE QUESTION Mayor Lozeau What was sent out with the packet on Friday was a spreadsheet that shows the different increases and a lot of information that we may or may not go over. It also had a sheet that shows benefits that are available to some and not others. What didn’t go out that might have been helpful is and what I just distributed which is you all have access to it, it’s the merit grid and it’s on-line and that sort of thing but I thought it would be helpful if I made a bigger copy. There’s an ordinance that speaks to bringing in changes to the merit plan every three years. So every three years the merit plan gets looked at and what’s before you is based on a group of managers and division directors giving input on the merit grid and you can see that there are a few changes. My understanding of what the committee was interested in the last time this was discussed was that I think that I’ll bring you vanilla and the whole sundae which is what you have which shows the different groups that we have. As you know we have 16 unions in the City plus our merit employees. The analysis of the contract increase in benefits which is what I put in your packet this week walks through what is happening to this 2012 because as you recall one of the conversations around the merit plan was why are some of those steps higher than you think you would normally see on a grid. Some of that had to do with the $750 that was given to merit employees and then added into the grid back in 2007 when they accepted going from 5% in their insurance to 10% and that’s one of the reasons that those numbers are a little bit odd in place to place. The other problem that we are trying to address with this is people that are off the grid. When you max out on say on any number you then go to the end and while you are on that end you then just get an increase of the CPIU. It’s not clear that that CPIU increase that you get does or does not roll into the base so we were very specific in the merit plan that I proposed to you to say it’s a one-time annual payment and it doesn’t get built into your base salary and within this year, within FY 16’ and Mr. Griffin will correct me if I misspeak, there will be 1/3 of our merit employees off this grid. We don’t have anybody on the first four steps on this grid so that’s why what we proposed to you was to lop off the first three steps and add on six more steps at the end. That’s what the document before you tonight proposes. I think there is a couple of ways that you can go. If you want to keep the step and grade system then this is what we recommend you do. If you want to stop having a step and grade system then I think that’s a whole different discussion that we are certainly willing to have and provide you with any information that you would like. I did think that it was important because if you looked at a merit Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 12 employee’s pay increase and you see that let’s say that 3% in 14’, 15’, and 16’ you may say why did they get 3% while others got less and that’s the reason that I gave you the additional information on this sheet about how merit doesn’t get to negotiate their changes as do the unions. Whether there are longevity payments or not, merit doesn’t have those, earned time or clothing allowance. Their education reimbursement is that they have to be pre-approved and then it has to be budgeted for those purposes. They don’t have a degree incentive so as you know the police and supervisors we now have put in a payment every year based on what degree you have. We laid out the pension cost because I think Alderman Chasse, you specifically wondered about how those broke out. We had the employee and the employer and then the benefit cost are along the bottom and as I mentioned before, all City employees are able to have health insurance, it’s just the degree of what their share is so if they work less than 40 hours they pay a greater share of their healthcare. The second document walks through what bargaining units have compared to what merit has. This is actually a tool that will help you long into the future as you are looking at contracts and cost items to know some of the differences between the different bargaining units and our merit employees. Mr. Griffin and I are happy to answer questions that we are capable of answering. Chairman Chasse The first one says Merit Grid – May of 2014, those 1 through 20, are they years? Mayor Lozeau Yes, basically. If you were to have a performance evaluation that is a positive one you are allowed to move to the next step. Chairman Chasse What does 1 represent, what year? Mayor Lozeau It would be very rare for us to bring in an employee at a grade and a first step. It’s much more typical to see them come in somewhere between 10 and 12. Chairman Chasse But it has to pertain to a year. Mayor Lozeau But it’s the employee’s year. When you look at the numbers in that last column and you look at let’s just say grade 15 that’s typically many of your manager’s and it doesn’t take very long for them to max out on that step if they have been with the City for a long time and as you know, a majority of our employees are here for a long time. We have 1/3 of them that will be off the grid in this coming fiscal year and that’s pretty significant. We have 125 merit employees so that’s a pretty fair amount. The marked up grid was attached to the legislation, do folks have that grid? Alderman Caron It’s the newly proposed merit grid that started with $22,932 which was basically step 4 and then you put the additional. Alderman Soucy So if you are a grade 10 and a step 15 and you take a promotion and you are going to move up to a grade 14, what’s the standard or the baseline for what your next step will be? Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 13 Mayor Lozeau We try to seat the individual on the next grade and something greater than what they were at, particularly if it’s a promotion. So if you are looking at 10/15 on the current grid that’s $43,458 so you look on the next one and that would likely at least put them on the next grade at step 12 at $44,600. We also do send all position changes and promotions through the HAY System to make sure that it is commensurate with where they should be and their level of responsibilities and we get a recommendation from both the director of whatever division or department it is as well as the HR Department. Alderman Siegel I appreciate the work that went into this but the problem in that every single number or percent here is triple what we can expect for the cap numbers so I just don’t know what we can do and it’s a tough problem. Just normal advancement blows us away and it serves as a metric for other bargaining units who are going to say well, this is institutionalized here and I understand there’s this cap but they are getting this and they are not even a bargaining unit so it’s going to be hard going forward. About five or six years this kind of made sense but the world is changing. Mayor Lozeau That’s one of the reasons that I made that list of benefits. The principals were a merit group when I came in and when the year came that they had 0 or .5% they then unionized and now have all of the benefits of some of these other units that merit employees will never have and when I have been at the negotiating table with unions and they have raised the merit fist, it’s very rare for them to raise it and I tell them they are more than welcome to be part of the merit group if they would like to be but there is far too much at stake for them and so there has to be some recognition that the negotiation is worth value and that the benefits that the merit employees don’t have a value and it’s also worth noting that those that are on the merit plan, those divisions and departments have come within the spending cap each time that they have brought in their budget. We have not been in a situation where those numbers have hurt. It’s also one of the very few groups that actually sometime have employees that don’t get up a step. They don’t get a positive performance review and they are held back or given another set of goals to achieve prior to getting it. There are a significant amount of differences if you look at that additional spreadsheet I gave you that you don’t see with merit. Alderman Siegel I appreciate that and I know it’s difficult because nobody wants to give anything back and you run the risk of having people in the merit grid say well, why are we on the merit grid, why don’t we just become a collective bargaining unit. I feel like financially we are kind of shot out of a cannon into a wall because 80% of the budgets, certainly in the school department are salaries. The police department did come in at 1.5% but eventually things are going to happen like services are going to get cut and I don’t have an easy answer to this. I thought I would be more comfortable with having the increases like the 3% increases earlier in the grid to get the people that were just on board, to kind of give them a bump because that’s really the people that need it but the tail end is getting the same approximate bumps and that’s an issue that I have. I don’t have it as much up front because there’s not as much as a financial impact, it’s the tail end. Also, it’s not the kind of thing where a salary increase or lack thereof is going to be the thing that determines whether somebody stays or goes because you have the pension considerations. The most incentivizing aspect of the salary increase really happens in the beginning and this grid doesn’t reflect that as it’s somewhat uniform. If we could skew it to the left as it were it would probably be…I think the City would be better off but I don’t know how to model that, it’s not linear. I’m just not comfortable with this as it’s structured but I appreciate the level of difficulty. Mayor Lozeau The newly proposed grid, the increases are slightly less. I think when the 750 was added into the grid in that year of 2012 when I recommended the .5% and both myself and the Board of Aldermen agreed to that, we didn’t add that .5% into the grid. We said we were going to give a .5% and if next year the money is available Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 14 We will give you the rest of that increase, that .25% and that’s what ended up moving them to the next step. It really is a challenge. My understanding from City Clerk Bergeron is that the exercise around the grid is what goes us the UAW Professional Group. The merit group keeps getting smaller. Costs like earned time are very expensive to the City so that’s part of what I tried to consider when we looked at all of this. Alderman Siegel I do appreciate that, it’s difficult. Again, I don’t have an easy answer; I’m just not comfortable with it. What I do know is that the future holds low inflation rates, maybe 1% next year, is that right, Mr. Griffin? Mr. Griffin Very close, about 1%. Chairman Chasse I’m not trying to shun my duties but I think I’d like to send this to the Budget Committee also to get their input th on it. It looks like those people that are in the 20 are guaranteed to get a 3% raise every year. Mayor Lozeau When I came in here and looked at some of these numbers in 2008 I was really surprised at how it worked but by the same token in the merit system nobody is guaranteed an increase, everybody has to receive a performance evaluation. We only have two groups in the City that require that evaluation and that’s UAW and merit in order to get an increase which leaves 14 groups that do not. I have no concern or objection to you sending it to the Budget Committee but I also would point out that while you are looking at this information to look at some of these other things and some of the raises that are already in place for other unions that are greater than what we are suggesting for merit. If you add in the clothing allowance, the longevity payment and the education incentive it’s significantly greater than anything on this grid for merit. We had to do something to the grid when you are going to have people falling off and I gave consideration to coming in and recommending that everyone be at 2% and then they get an addition if we can afford it but when you start really looking at all of these additional things that merit does not receive and the cost to the City, it didn’t seem fair and that’s why we made this recommendation. Chairman Chasse I think I’d like to speak with Alderman Deane and see if he can put on just this for a Budget Committee meeting. Mayor Lozeau I’m happy to do it. Alderman Caron Did you say you still use the HAY System? Mayor Lozeau Yes. Alderman Caron I agree with Alderman Siegel about the 3% across the board but I was here when the UAW came in and it was middle management that decided that they needed a union. I was part of that group until they took me out but Personnel/Administrative Affairs Cmte. 6-29-15 Page 15 they really fought hard because they were being left out. I will tell you that when they took the longevity away from merit people there was a lot of talk about unionizing. This is going to be tougher for us and the next few years. I think Alderman Chasse is right to send it to the Budget Committee. I also think dropping the first few grades is good because you never really hire someone at the bottom. There are a lot of things that they get that merit people don’t so we have to find a balance. Alderman Soucy I hear what everyone is saying but I also have concerns with the automatic 3%. Those types of raises are unstainable and I’m not sure what the answer is. Maybe an automatic rate of inflation every year up to the 2.94%. I don’t see a lot of union raises going more than 1% or 1.5%. We really can’t do much more than the rate of inflation because 80% of the budget being payroll. We are now seeing services and operations getting less. I agree with Alderman Chasse, this needs further study and I think the Budget Committee is the appropriate place. MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO TABLE O-14-17 MOTION CARRIED Chairman Chasse Mayor Lozeau, I am going to try to get a joint meeting of the Budget Review Committee and the Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee and then you and Mr. Griffin can come in and we can all have it in one shot. In the interim perhaps you can get these graphs out to the full Board. Mayor Lozeau I will do that. O-15-038 Endorsers: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Alderman-at-Large Daniel T. Moriarty Alderwoman Pamela T. Brown AMENDING THE COMPOSITION OF THE CABLE TELEVISION ADVISORY BOARD  Tabled – 3/16/15 DISCUSSION PUBLIC COMMENT - None REMARKS BY THE ALDERMEN - None POSSIBLE NON-PUBLIC SESSION ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN SIEGEL TO ADJOURN MOTION CARRIED The meeting was declared closed at 8:07 p.m. Alderman Michael Soucy Committee Clerk